


Last Words

by sklbug15



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-27
Updated: 2013-11-27
Packaged: 2018-01-02 20:17:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1061165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sklbug15/pseuds/sklbug15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written toward the beginning of season 8.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Last Words

**Author's Note:**

> Written toward the beginning of season 8.

33 year old Dean Winchester entered the latest motel room and put the paper bag down on the rickety table. He licked his lips at the thought of the somewhat appetizing apple pie currently hiding behind the brown paper. Sam had gone to check in with Garth to make sure Kevin and his mother were safe with him, leaving his older brother alone in their room. The hunter pulled the pie from the bag and pulled the plastic cover off intent on indulging. Picking up a plastic fork he dug in taking a bite just as his phone rang.  
Dean growled as he dug around in his pocket fingers feeling around for the plastic annoyance. He flipped it open not looking at the number flashing on his screen.  
"Yea," he growled after swallowing.  
"Dean," a very familiar voice asked. Dean dropped his fork as he pulled the cell away from his ear staring at it. Not again.  
"Very funny," Dean said, "I know what you are. I killed one of your kind before and I will track you down and kill you too," Dean promised to the caller.  
"Dean?" John's voice came in loud and clear through the phone, ignoring what his son had just said to him. "Where are you and Sam?"  
"Fine, if you want to play it that way, I'm ready for you, you son of a bitch. I'll come to where you are and gank you good and proper," Dean said, anger pumping through his veins, "You tell me where you are and I'll be there."  
"Dean," the man on the other side of the phone sighed, "fine." He told the hunter his location and hung up.  
John Winchester stood where he was, looking around him. Last he remembered he was with his sons in the car, a truck coming at them and then suddenly he was standing in a parking lot surrounded by a bunch of stores. He had been a bit taken back by his son's response to his call, but happy to hear that Dean was smart enough to know it might not be him. John ducked in to the nearest store and headed over to where the magazines were. November 2012 was displayed on one. John's heart started pounding as he realized he had somehow travelled through time. No wonder Dean didn't believe it was him. He was probably dead.  
John headed to the front of the store when he noticed the Impala drive into the parking lot. Making his way back through the door into the parking lot he watched as his first born got out of the car and stared at him.  
"Hello Dean," he said, watching emotions struggle with each other on his son's face. John's eyes tracked the lines in the other man's face. He didn't look as young as John was use to him looking. He watched the way Dean stood, as if ready to fight.  
"So where did you want to do this," John asked as his eyes fell to where Dean was holding, what John knew to be, holy water in his hand. Both men glanced around to see a copse of trees to the side of the stores. They fell into step, Dean keeping a wary eye on the thing pretending to be his father. Making it to the trees, Dean didn't hesitate in splashing holy water in his father's face. This was followed by more of the usual tests, John wondering about the soap that was thrown on him, but not saying anything.  
Dean finished the tests and stood staring at John. "How are you here?" he asked, his voice husky.  
"Last thing I remember, there was a truck coming at us," John said to him, "then I was here."  
Dean had flinched when John mentioned the truck, "2006," he said.  
John nodded, "and now it's late 2012," he said. Dean sighed heavily. "Awesome, time travel," he said under his breath, "just freaking awesome." He looked back at his father before hugging him hard.  
"I missed you," Dean mumbled softly, holding onto his dad hard. John hugged Dean back for a moment before they let go of each other.  
"Where is your brother?" John asked curiously. He knew it was highly probable that he, himself, was dead. He had known since the beginning that chances were high that something would get him. He hoped to hell however, he had done a good job at teaching his sons to keep themselves alive.  
"Sam is, taking care of a few things," Dean said hesitantly. John nodded. Dean looked around the area quickly. "We should get you back to the motel and see about getting you back to 2006," he said, heart heavy at what that would mean for them.  
John followed the other hunter back to the Impala climbing in. He studied Dean as the young man drove back to the motel; eyes taking in the sight of his son whose eyes were focused on the road. He wondered what Dean and Sam had gone through these past 6 or so years to make Dean look so worn.  
Dean parked the car and got out, his back to his father, as they both went to the room. John entered slowly eyes tracking the other man. Not for the first time, John wasn't sure if he had made the right decision in the way he had raised his sons. Yes they were still alive, but at what cost?  
Dean turned and looked at his father. The two men considered each other when a jarring tone interrupted them. John pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at it quizzically, glancing quickly at Dean.  
"Hello." John paused a moment, "Dean?" he said looking at the man in front of him, while listening to his younger counterpart on the phone.  
"Son of a bitch," Dean muttered.  
Dean and John climbed back into the Impala, Dean muttering under his breath all the while.  
"Time travel," John said out loud once they got on the road.  
"Yea," Dean said. "I could do without having another me running around though. It's not as much fun as one would think," he sighed. John cast a look over at him raising an eyebrow.  
Dean opened his mouth to explain, "It's complicated, never mind," he said shaking his head. He wasn't about to get into the whole angels trying to possess him and Sammy thing. After what seemed like hours of silence, Dean pulled up to the parking lot of a park, eyes tracking the people milling about in the middle of the day. He nodded to the backseat, where he put the bag containing the holy water and silver among other things.  
John went around and grabbed the bag, "should I ask about the soap," he asked.  
Dean sighed, "It's complicated," he said in response, "but if there's a reaction, cut off the head and come get me." John nodded and went into the park. Dean shifted in his seat. He probably should have gone with his father, but he didn't want to raise anyone's suspicions when they saw there was two of him. Even if they would just come to the logical conclusion of twins, Dean didn't want to draw any more attention than was necessary.  
A few minutes later John reemerged with a younger version of Sam and Dean trailing behind him. The two young men climbed into the backseat and John climbed back into the passenger seat. Dean turned and looked into the back, straight into the eyes of his 27 year old self.  
"That never feels normal," he muttered to himself. Without another word he pulled out of the parking lot and back towards the motel, wondering if he'd ever get to finish his pie.  
Dean and Sam sat in the back of the Impala, both staring at the back of the head of the older Dean driving them to a motel.  
"Dude, this is just freaking weird," 27 year old Dean announced to the car. The 33 year old Dean just snorted, "if only," he said. He glanced up into the rearview mirror, "it gets weirder," he said, before putting his eyes back on the road. The other three men looked at him, but he didn't elaborate.  
Finally all four of the men enter the motel room where they all shift around in silence.  
"So where am I?" 23 year old Sam finally asks.  
"Taking care of something," the older Dean announces, sitting down to finish his pie, instinctively knowing what Sam meant by the question.  
"Okay. And how are we going to fix this?" his younger counterpart asks, crossing his arms, leaning against the wall. Dean puts down his fork, sighing in annoyance.  
"Let me finish my damn pie first and then we'll worry about this," Dean said crossly to the time travelers as his pocket vibrates. The hunter pulls his phone out and reads the text message before shoving the phone back into his pocket and picking up his fork again.  
After a few bites Dean puts down his fork again and looks at the three hunters staring at him.  
"Was that me?" Sam asks his older, older brother.  
"No. That was a… friend of mine. Benny," Dean answers roughly. He didn't want to go into it. Explaining purgatory and why he was now friends with a vampire would not go down well with his time travelling family.  
Sam stared at him. "You have a friend? Like a friend, friend?" he asked. He had never known his brother to have friends. One night stands and acquaintances, yes, friends, no. His brother had avoided getting close to anybody because he would either have to leave them or they would end up dead.  
"No, like a boyfriend," Dean responded sarcastically picking up his fork again. His phone rang. Dean growled. He picked it up.  
"Finally, I left you that message ages ago, Sammy," he said roughly into the phone. Sam perked up at hearing his name. Dean turned away from the others and walked into the bathroom to converse with this year's Sam.  
The three time travelers stood staring at each other. 27 year old Dean's eyes fell on the remaining pie a hopeful glint in his eye.  
"Do you think we killed the yellow eyed demon yet?" Sam asked suddenly. His family members looked at him.  
"I hope so," Dean said gaze on the pie. The three men looked up when the door to the bathroom opened.  
"Sam's on his way back. He should be here tonight," Dean announced before sitting back down.  
"And I'm going to finish my pie," he informed them.  
27 year old Dean wandered over to the TV and turned it on. He knew there was no point in trying to talk to his older self when he was focused on pie. Especially after so many interruptions.  
Sam stayed where he was, as John took to walking around the room inspecting it.  
"Did we do it?" Sam asked finally as Dean took the last bite of his pie, John pausing midstep to look over at the two still at the table. "Did we kill the yellowed eyed demon?" There was silence in the room as the other Dean turned his head away from the TV to look at them.  
Dean looked at the other three, "we did," he grinned at them. He got up from the table, "What's on TV?" he asked his younger self sitting down on the edge of the bed. John joined his sons in watching TV, silent as his gaze switched from the picture on the TV to his sons.  
"So is Benny a hunter?" Dean asked his older self suddenly.  
"What?"  
"Well, if I have a friend, I just thought it'd be another hunter," younger Dean said feeling slightly flushed.  
"Not exactly, but he did help me out," Dean responded evasively his eyes on the TV.  
"So when am I getting here?" Sam asked.  
"Not for a couple of more hours," came the response. Dean checked his watch noting the time.  
"Well, I'm hitting the hay. I'll take the couch, you can share the beds. Sammy can sleep on the floor when he arrives," Dean grinned at the younger version of his brother as he stood up taking his top shirt off leaving just a plain tee underneath.  
"Whoa, what is that?" his younger self asked. Dean looked to where his eyes were trained on. He sighed moving his shirt sleeve, fully exposing the handprint on his shoulder as all three of the time travelers looked at him.  
"Is that a handprint Dean?" John asked. How did his son get a handprint on his shoulder? It looked like it had been burned into him.  
"Yea," he responded, "I was touched by an angel," he said grinning. Sam rolled his eyes, his brother could never be serious, even in the future it turned out.  
"I don't think he wants to talk about it," he said to his father and brother, the latter of which who was still staring at the handprint wondering how the hell that had ended up on his shoulder. Dean just shrugged at their responses moving over to the couch and laying down on it.  
John wasn't quite sure what had woken him up. He sat up, letting his eyes adjust, seeing Sam and Dean sharing the other bed before his eyes moved over to the couch. His hand grabbed the gun that was under his pillow.  
"Get away from my son," he said harshly pulling out his gun to point it at the figure next to Dean on the couch. The figure straightened up and looked at John before promptly vanishing.  
"Wassthemadda," Dean slurred out from the bed slowly sitting up, Sam sitting up next to him both staring at John.  
"There was someone there," he gestured to where the future version of his son still slept. John frowned. How was his son still sleeping through this?  
"What was it?" Dean asked more awake now. John opened his mouth to respond when the motel door opened the moonlight framing the person in the doorway. The light was switched on, showing the occupants of the room that it was an older Sam Winchester who was standing in the doorway staring at the time travelers.  
"Dad," Sam said closing the door behind him, going over to his long since passed father hugging him.  
"Wow Sammy, you on steroids or something now? You're… big," Dean said grinning at his brother. Sam pulled away from their father groaning.  
"There are two of you? How am I going to survive that?" he grinned at his brother.  
"Go to sleep," Dean mumbled to everyone from the couch, his eyes still shut. John turned to look at him concerned.  
"There was someone here. Going after Dean," John told the older Sam who frowned.  
"Did you see who or what it was," he asked taking off his coat frowning at his brother who was still on the couch.  
John shook his head, "It was dark, I couldn't get a good look. It looked male, smaller than you, and he was holding his hand out to Dean like this," John demonstrated with his hand. Sam took in a breath.  
"He was holding out two of his fingers. Were they pointing at Dean's forehead?" Sam asked a smile lifting at the corner of his lips.  
"Yes," John responded bewildered at the expression on his youngest son's face.  
"Was he wearing a trench coat," Dean asked from the couch, his eyes still closed. John turned and looked at him.  
"Yes," he said slowly. Dean mumbled something under his breath, finally opening his eyes and sitting up, exchanging an amused glance with his brother.  
"Cas!" he called out. The family from 2006 stared at him. There was the sound of fluttering wings and a man appeared next to the couch looking at the time travelers, who stared at him in shock, curiously before turning to look at Dean.  
"Yes Dean," Castiel queried.  
"Do you know about this," Dean asked gesturing to the other men in the room.  
"You did tell me earlier, Dean. I am still uncertain as to how they came to be here," Castiel informed Dean.  
Dean sighed heavily, "Really? Cause last I checked there are only a few things that can time travel other people and most of them are related to you," he reminded the angel who frowned.  
"I am well aware of that Dean," Castiel reminded him frostily. 29 year old Sam bit down a laugh.  
"You know one of my friends at Stanford is now a marriage counselor," he informed the two. Dean glared at his brother. Castiel turned to look at Sam, head tilted, "What does your friend's occupation have to do with time travel?" he asked.  
"Ignore Samantha, he thinks he's being funny," Dean told Castiel, before he looked at Sam.  
"Bitch," he said.  
"Jerk," came the familiar response.  
"What are you?" John interrupted them; hand on his gun eyeing Castiel warily, with the younger Sam and Dean standing behind him watching the interaction.  
"This is Castiel," Sam said gesturing toward the angel, "he's a friend of ours."  
"But what is he?" Dean asked pushing past his father toward his future friend, who clearly wasn't human.  
"Wow Dean. Two friends. You sure are popular," Sam laughed from behind him. Present day Sam turned to look at his younger self.  
"Two friends?" he asked, looking back at Dean, confused.  
"I might have mentioned Benny," he said not meeting his brother's eyes. Castiel frowned at mention of the vampire.  
"Benny," Sam said slowly his brows furrowing.  
"You don't like him," the younger Sam said eying the expression on his older self's face, wondering why he didn't like a friend of his brother's.  
"He doesn't know him," Dean said defensively.  
"Dean," John said slowly, "why doesn't your brother like this Benny guy?" John Winchester knew his boys. He knew instinctively that Sam had a good reason to not like Benny. Or at least thought he had a good reason.  
"Probably because Benny is a vampire," Castiel said in a matter of fact tone, watching the interaction between the time travelers and the current Sam and Dean.  
Dean groaned as his father looked at him, "a vampire?" John asked his son, his voice hard.  
"He- it's complicated, but he doesn't kill humans," Dean said weakly.  
"He was instrumental in getting Dean out of Purgatory," Castiel put in helpfully, despite the fact that he himself wasn't a big fan of the vampire.  
"I was in purgatory," Dean asked his older self, followed up by a, "Purgatory is real? And I was in it?" He looked around at everybody else in the room, eyes wide.  
"Yes it's real and I was there, but now I'm not because Benny helped me get out. Yes he's a vampire, he doesn't go after people, he eats donated blood only and I do consider him a friend," Dean said frustrated. He looked over at Cas who was staring back at him, expressionless at this outburst.  
"What are you?" John said, whirling around facing the angel who glanced at Dean. One of his son's friends was a vampire. His other friend was also, clearly, not human, but John knew wasn't a vampire. His grip tightened on his gun. Dean nodded at Castiel, sighing.  
"I am an Angel of the Lord," Castiel said stiffly. The three Winchesters stared at him.  
"Yea right. Sure man," 27 year old Dean scoffed, "Angel of the Lord, what are you? A holy tax accountant or something." Castiel stared at him before looking at the older Dean who burst into laughter. Castiel's lips quirked up.  
"That's what I said. I mean the first time we met, a few years back," Dean finally said amused as he glanced at his friend.  
"He's telling the truth," Sam said softly to them. "Castiel is an angel."  
"Come on, there's no such thing," Dean protested.  
"Yes there is," his older counterpart said softly but firmly, "although most of them are dicks with wings. Cas is an exception," he said softly, smiling at the dark haired man.  
The younger Winchester boys stared at Dean smiling at Castiel, with young Sam raising an eyebrow at the expression on his brother's face as he looked at his friend.  
"Why am I hanging out with an Angel of the Lord?" Young Dean scoffed an uncertain look on his face. It seemed more like something Sammy would do, not him, Dean thought to himself.  
"It's a long story, but he's our friend," older Dean answered, cutting off Castiel's answer.  
"The handprint!" Young Sam burst out, everyone turning to look at him, "on your shoulder I mean. You made that crack about being touched by an angel."  
"Like I said, long story," older Dean said firmly before turning to look at Castiel, "do you know how they got here?" indicating the time travelling family.  
Castiel hesitated, "I am not sure who exactly, but I do know it was one of my brethren," he said slowly, "I came to tell you this, but you were having a nightmare. I only wished to soothe you when your father saw me and ordered me to leave you be," he explained.  
Dean nodded thoughtfully, "Thanks Cas," he said sighing, "well I'm going back to sleep," and with that he went and lay back on the couch. He turned his head and looked at everyone else.  
"It's not like we can do much against the angel who decided to send you here. Cas will investigate and figure out who it was and why and then he'll send you back," and with that the older Dean went to sleep. The other men looked at each other, Castiel disappearing with the sound of wings, going back to their beds leaving 29 year old Sam Winchester standing in the middle of the room.  
"Where am I supposed to sleep?" he asked.  
"On the floor bitch!" his brother answered without opening his eyes. Sam sighed.  
Sam Winchester got up the next morning and sat in one of the chairs in the room just watching his father sleep. They had always been butting heads when he was alive, and there were things Sam had learned since his father's death that had made him angry at his father. Yet, that didn't mean Sam didn't miss him terribly. John was his father after all and he had done the best he could with them, even if most people would disagree. John stirred in his bed and sat up, his eyes connecting with his youngest.  
"Did you know about mom?" Sam asked softly. John looked at him confusion on his face.  
"About her family and the fact that they were hunters?" Sam clarified, knowing the answer even before he finished it.  
"I found out after her death," John replied softly climbing out of bed and going to sit near Sam. It was on the tip of Sam's tongue to ask if John knew that the last thing Mary wanted was for her sons to be hunters, but he knew the answer to that without asking his father. He also knew that informing his father of that fact would do nothing, but make him more miserable than he already was, without the love of his life.  
They sat in silence just looking at each other before Sam got up and went over and hugged his father without saying a word. He pulled away and sat back down.  
"So you and Dean found out about the Campbells," John said nodding his head, not remarking on his son's actions.  
"We found out about Adam too," Sam let slip before freezing at his mistake.  
John looked at Sam, "Adam," he breathed, "how is he?"  
Sam eyes widened, what was he supposed to tell his father? That Adam had been possessed by the archangel Michael, and Sam had pulled them both into hell with him and Lucifer.  
"Morning," Dean said entering in through the door. "We're still sleeping huh?" he noted seeing the younger versions of him and his brother still in their shared bed.  
John didn't turn to look at Dean, instead keeping his eyes on Sam.  
"Fine, he's fine," Sam lied, surprised when his father seemed to believe him, "Pre-med," he continued on with his lie, his mind begging him to stop. Dean looked at his brother opening his mouth to ask what he was talking about, but saw the plea in Sam's eyes and closed his mouth.  
"I got food," Dean said brightly putting the bag down on the table.  
"Thanks kid," John said grabbing the bag to help himself, leaving Dean to question his brother silently. Sam just shook his head warning Dean to drop it.  
"Is there pie," came the groggy question from the bed as the younger Dean woke up hitting Sam with his elbow while sitting up. Younger Sam opened his eyes glaring at his brother who ignored him. The other Dean grinned.  
"Is there pie? It's like you don't know me," he said to the time traveler.  
The sound of fluttering wings interrupted the family. Castiel appeared looking worn and a bit annoyed.  
"Mornin' Cas. Want some pie?" Dean offered causing his younger self to look at him in alarm. Since when did he share his pie with anybody?  
"No. Thank you Dean," Castiel brushed aside his offer, "I come with news," he informed them gravelly.  
"What is it," John asked eying the angel warily. His sons sure seemed comfortable with the angel, especially Dean, but he still wasn't sure the otherworldly being could be trusted.  
"Gabriel," Castiel began.  
"Is dead," Dean finished for him frowning, "Lucifer killed him."  
"Lucifer. As in the devil? That Lucifer," young Dean said skeptically.  
"Yes that Lucifer. Ask Sammy about him," Dean said impatiently.  
"Is alive," Castiel informed them, "and it appears behind this time travel incident."  
Dean let forth some expletives. Sam stood there frowning.  
"Wait, when you say Gabriel," the younger Sam began.  
"Yes the archangel," Dean filled in, "the same archangel who before we even knew angels existed seemed to make it his personal mission to mess with our lives. He messed with my baby and made Sam live through a hundred or so Tuesdays that all ended with me dying. Then there was T.V. land," he continued. The men from 2006 looked at him funny.  
"We were trapped in TV shows. Sam had herpes," Dean said, "although to be honest that was a bit funny. Funnier than when he was turned into a car-" Dean cut off at the look on Sam's face.  
"You didn't seem to mind being trapped with Dr. Sexy," he said coldly. Dean gaped at him.  
"It wasn't really Dr. Sexy. It was Gabriel pretending," Dean said finally albeit a bit sadly. Sam rolled his eyes. "So how do we get Gabriel to send us, I mean the other us, back," Dean asked Cas, "and why would he do this in the first place."  
Cas shrugged.  
"That's it? A shrug?" Dean asked sounding annoyed with his friend's answer.  
"Seriously. Marriage Counselor," Sam said.  
"Not the time, Sammy!" Dean said rounding on his brother.  
"Yea Sammy, not the time," the men froze turning to look at the newcomer. Gabriel grinned at them.  
"If it isn't my favorite yahoos, times two," the archangel remarked looking around the room.  
"You!" Sam went towards the Trickster intent on killing him barehanded and stumbled when his target disappeared suddenly, only to reappear on the other side of the room.  
"Now Sammy, you know you can't kill me," Gabriel said disapprovingly.  
"Don't call me Sammy!" Sam snarled. John stepped closer to his sons, eyeing Gabriel warily.  
"Why did you do this?" Dean asked putting his hand on his brother's arm in an effort to calm him.  
Gabriel shrugged, "I was bored."  
"That's it. You were bored? That's why we're suddenly 6 years in the future," the younger Dean asked.  
Gabriel looked at the younger version of Dean Winchester, "We haven't met yet, have we?" he commented.  
"You know we haven't," the older Dean answered, "Now put us, the other us, back where we belong," he said.  
"Is that really what you want Dean?" Gabriel asked softly, his eyes flickering to where John was standing, watching the interaction. Dean took in a breath.  
"It doesn't matter if I want it or not, it's where we need to be," he said.  
Gabriel looked at him, "wise words," he commented lightly. He raised his hand.  
"Any last words to your other selves. Not that they are going to remember any of this," he said to the boys. Dean and Sam looked at each other before going over to their father to give him one last hug.  
"Bye Dad," Sam said stepping back glancing at his brother who forced a smile at John. Gabriel snapped his fingers and they were gone.  
"Should we be surprised that Gabriel's gone too," Sam asked Dean and Castiel. Dean rolled his eyes and sat down turning on the TV, Castiel joining him.  
"You know I was being serious about that marriage counselor thing," Sam remarked  
"Shut up, Sam."

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly still haven't a clue where this fic came from, but it forced me to write it. Additionally I recently read an author's note where he/she wrote about how he/she did not like John as a character and thought he was a bad father and how his agenda for going after the yellow eyed demon was based on revenge. I don't necessarily agree. Yes, there are some obvious issues with how he raised his sons. Yes, the show has a lot about how he was absent a lot. However, his wife died under suspicious circumstances and he may or may not have seen the yellow eyed demon after he told Dean to take Sammy and run. Of course in his grief he start investigating and learned not just about the yellow eyed demon, but about all sorts of other monsters out there. In my head John then feels compelled to learn about fighting these monsters and to go after the yellow eyed demon, yes partially in revenge, but I think a part of him knows that the demon and everything else evil in the world like to go after innocent people. I think it's John trying to protect innocent people so other spouses and other children don't have to grow up without parents. Furthermore there's a flashback with Bobby about how he's suppose to be teaching Dean to shoot, but instead plays ball. Think about it. John is scared. His wife was killed and the demon was going after his 6 month old son! He knows he can't be around to protect Dean and Sam 24/7. He's teaching them to defend themselves and yes as they get older to go out and PROTECT other people. So yes, not the textbook definition of greatest father in the world, but I don't think he was the worst father either. Even in season 2, Dean and Sam point out he could have gone a different way and become an abusive drunk, but he didn't. Ok, speech over. Thanks for reading.


End file.
